Synopsis

One day, as it rains threads of silk, a young girl returns home. She begins to gather the small things of everyday life—a piece of pear left behind, a worn bar of soap, and a tiny moon broken away from herself (a fingernail)—to make warmth. Those materials are placed in a microwave, where they melt and blend together, transforming into a heart, then a star, then soup, and finally, pure light. And within that light, the girl is reunited with the memory of the person she lost.  Moments spent laughing together, wrapped in scarves—longing, love, and departure—flow across a single screen. What remains in the end is a single thread, and the sight of countless scarves woven from that thread swaying in the wind. This work is a story about the heart of the one left behind and the warmth that never disappears. It depicts the moment when longing, instead of scattering, is connected by a small thread and returns again.

Director's Comment

When I look at old objects in my home, I often feel as though they are living beings, carrying the traces of time as they quietly age and change. This film began with that feeling. Through the flow of consciousness, I wanted to portray the act of warming forgotten moments and reflecting on memories held within ordinary objects. I believe memories do not simply disappear; they fade, return, and continuously change their shape as they move through time alongside us. In the final scene, the scarf drifting away represents letting go of the painful memories left behind. Yet those memories do not vanish completely—they return as a single thread, becoming part of our lives once again. Heat up is a story about warming the moments that have grown cold, and about all of us who continue to live with our memories.

Staff

Program Note

On a rainy day, the whole world turns damp and quiet settles over everything. It's a moment when a girl needs nothing more than a warm cup of tea to keep her heart from growing soggy with the gloom. Using whatever small things are at hand, she warms her tea, and as its heat spreads through her body, the dampness in her heart seems to dry in the wind — left soft and gentle, wrapping around those she misses, and around us too. The film gives shape to an invisible feeling through the director's own richly imaginative storytelling and imagery, paired with a restrained, understated sound design.

KIM Kyeongbae